Optimal real-time junction scheduling for trains with connected driver advice systems

We have developed a system that combines real-time driving advice calculation with real-time junction scheduling to reduce delays at junctions, and have simulated the operation of this junction scheduling system at Neasden Junction in the UK, where about 10% of trains are slowed at the junction. When an express train was delayed by three minutes early in its journey, the result would have been three trains arriving at the junction within a 60 s interval. The junction scheduling system detected the potential conflicts 20 min before they occurred, and calculated new target times at the junction to resolve the conflicts. The connected driver advice systems responded by calculating new optimal speed profiles to meet the revised arrival times.